Brussels, 27/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - The Italian Messagenet SpA company, which provides Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services (identical to the service offered by Skype), sent the commissioner for competition a letter confirming that the merger between Skype and Microsoft would strengthen the dominant position of Skype on the VOIP market.
Messagenet SpA is particularly concerned by the inclusion of the Skype programme in all the new Windows user systems and by the incompatibility of other VOIP programmes with Skype. In its letter, the Italian company claimed that these elements constitute a serious impediment to competition.
Amelia Torres, the spokeswoman for the commissioner for competition declared, “we are examining the observations made by third parties, as we do for all merger cases”. The European Commission had planned to make a statement on the Microsoft-Skype merger on 7 October. (DD/stag/trans/fl)